DE Since 1916
Daily Egyptian TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2015 VOLUME 99 ISSUE 6
1,250 parolees behind bars due to housing shortage Steve Mills
Chicago Tribune
State prison officials hold close to 1,250 inmates beyond their release dates every year -- not because they pose a threat to the public but because they cannot find a place to live that parole officers find suitable, according to court papers and interviews. For Illinois taxpayers, the extended stays add as much as $25 million a year in prison costs, compared with the far lower
tab for parole. It’s a practice commonly known as “violating at the door” because guards at one time walked inmates who had completed their sentences to the prison gates, only to return them to their cells for failing to find a suitable home -considered a parole violation. Now, according to prison officials, such dramatic “turnarounds” rarely if ever take place, yet hundreds of inmates continue
to be held every year for months or even years beyond their release dates. They must be set free by the time their terms of parole end, sometimes as long as three years later. The practice, which mostly affects convicted sex offenders, raises a host of concerns, most notably that inmates released only after their parole has ended will miss out on those benefits on their sudden return to the outside world.
Committees chosen for chancellor, athletic director searches Luke Nozicka
Aaron Graff
The group of people who will select Carbondale’s next chancellor have been chosen. Rehabilitation Institute Director Carl Flowers and psychology Chairwoman Meera Komarraju will serve as co-chairs of the Chancellor Search Advisory Committee–which consists of 18 people–including students, professors, a former state senator and others. Internal and external candidates can apply for the chancellor position. “We want to be very thoughtful about investing time and effort to help identify a good pool across the nation,” SIU President Randy Dunn said in an interview Friday. “That work is under way right now to try to identify some of those individuals who might be good matches to ensure that they’re aware of the position.” The committee will choose as many as four to five finalists, whom will be invited to visit the campus once chosen, Dunn said. The search for a full-time provost won’t begin until a chancellor is appointed.
SIU President Randy Dunn appointed members to a search committee for a new athletic director Monday. Former athletic director Mario Moccia started the same position at his alma mater New Mexico State on Jan. 5. Harold Bardo, former director of the SIU Carbondale Medical and Dental Education Preparatory Program, has been serving as the interim athletic director. He previously said he would not come out of retirement to take the position. The committee will begin searching immediately. Dunn hopes to fill the position this spring.
@LukeNozicka | Daily Egyptian
Jonathan Swartz
@JP_Swartz | Daily Egyptian
Finding Ron Dunkel is easy. In the basement of the Student Center is a Craft Shop that has been around for 40 years. Ask the person at the main desk if Ron is in. The answer will likely be, “Yes, check in the wood shop.” Since 1982, Dunkel has worked and taught in the wood shop. When he’s not in the workroom, he’s elsewhere in the Craft Shop tinkering, building or creating. While he may be in a predictable place, what he is doing there is hardly monotonous. Dunkel has created everything from kayaks to picture frames. He said he has assisted countless students with projects. But he does more than create. “I want to inspire people here at the Craft Shop,” Dunkel said. “Inspire them to come up with ideas, inspire them with things we’ve done already.” Dunkel’s excitement not only shapes the minds of those who visit the Craft Shop, but the shop’s physical appearance as well.
@AaronGraff_DE | Daily Egyptian
He oversaw the addition of what he calls the paint bar, which required major renovations to make space. Dunkel said the room now housing the paint bar— formerly a section of the kitchen— contained sinks, conveyor belts and huge transformers. “Food was spilling and cockroaches were jumping all over it so they finally tore that stuff out,” Dunkel said. “We were able to take over that area for more workshops such as metal smithing, stained glass, sewing.” Kara Dunkel, Ron’s wife of nearly 30 years, describes her husband’s idea stream as never-ending. “The man is one ball of fire of inspiration,” Kara said. “He constantly has something going on, and if he doesn’t have a project he’s working on, he’s planning to work on one.” Dunkel’s designs are not aided by a cup of coffee, either. “No caffeine,” he said. “I don’t need the extra energy. I’d lie awake all night, wouldn’t sleep. Too many things, too many ideas come up in my head.”
The Dunkels live on the south side of Carbondale, the same area of town Ron was raised more than 50 years ago. Both of his parents attended SIU, and he rode his bike around campus as a child. From birth until receiving his bachelor’s degree in art from the university, Dunkel remained in Carbondale. This permanence has given him the opportunity to see the university grow and change. He said he likes the way the university has adapted to catering to students more in recent years. Dunkel said as a research institution, it seemed at times students were more of an afterthought, and he appreciates the changes SIU has made. “I like the way we roll out the carpet for the students now, and it should be more that way,” Dunkel said. When Dunkel comes up with new plans, he said he keeps one thought in mind: What do the students need? He has answered that question with various additions to the Craft Shop. Please see DUNKEL · 3
P eter r ogalla • D aily e gyPtian Student Center Craft Shop coordinator Ron Dunkel poses for a portrait in the Big Muddy Room at the Student Center on Monday. Dunkel plans to retire in his position, which he has held since 1994.